Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, nor are any of the places. If Sevvy and Remy were mine, they'd still be alive :'(

A special thank you to rowan-greenleaf as without your kind review it is doubtful I would have wrote another chapter. I still would really appreciate any feedback on this story, even if it's just to say that you don't like it. Criticism means the world to me as I am very new to all of this. Thank you so much

Summary: Falling from cloud 9, Severus is shocked into admitting a few things to himself and Remus has problems of his own.

Chapter 2: Acceptance

The next few weeks, in Severus' opinion were probably the best in his life. He had, for the first time in his life, a real friend who cared about him. Never before had he ever relaxed in the presence of another person. Remus was right; he closed off to everyone else. It was just what he had learnt from previous experience; don't trust anyone because they are just out for what they can get. But now, he didn't wander the corridors alone, scared of judgemental stares, he walked with Remus feeling as though no one could hurt him. Nothing fazed him, he could even deal with Black and Potter whenever he encountered either of them. He never grappled for his wand at first sight the popular Griffindors, he smirked in true Snape fashion. After all, he had Remus' attention despite all the odds. He knew just how much it would anger the two of them to know how close he had got to their 'property'. And yet, he never told them; he had no reason to. The mere knowledge of it was enough and he knew it would just cause problems for Remus if they knew anyway, which was the last thing he wanted.

No one noticed their walks together, nor their little chats packed with private jokes. They did not pick up on the fact that they sat together in all the lessons they shared, not even Remus' fellow marauders knew. Professor Slughorn made sure of this.

It was precisely one week after they first were paired together, presenting Slughorn their own version of the Remembeis Potion. Traditionally, when drunk, the potion caused the individual to be reminded of a particular task that had escaped their mind. The side effects, however, sometimes included the drinker to only remember the fact that they had forgotten something, but not the specific and vital details. In addition, the individual could jump up from whatever it was they were doing in order to carry out their forgotten task, regardless of the time of day or the inappropriateness to do their desired behaviour. In Severus and Remus' modified version, the Potion triggered the individual to write the forgotten task on a piece of parchment without effecting their free will or consciousness. The Potions Master was so overjoyed at their work that he gave them 612 for their project, an award and whole-heartedly informed all the other teachers how well the two boys worked together. Naturally, they were then paired together in most of their other classes giving them a perfect opportunity to talk to one another whilst providing them with a certified reason for spending extra time together. It was perfect.

November flourished quickly and brought with it beautifully dazzling snow. Remus loved this time of year, he preferred colder weather and the buzzing anticipation of the festive season.

"It's just so rare," Remus explained as Severus rolled his eyes.

"You sentimental git," he teased.

"Shut up!" Remus exclaimed, shoving the other boy and causing him to fall sideways.

Sitting back up and wrapping his arms around his knees, Severus smiled to himself. Sometimes when they were together like this, he would lose himself and forget that they were two people from a very different life, that they couldn't laugh and joke with one another without justifying it, that they met in obscure and hidden places. They couldn't even wave to one another in the Great Hall; it was just not acceptable behaviour for a Griffindor and a Slytherin.

"Severus?"

"Hmm?"

"There's a Hogsmade trip soon, did you see the notice?"

"Yes. I'm not blind, they're everywhere. The 22nd."

"Yeah," Remus blushed slightly and turned away from Severus. "I just wondered if you wanted to, you know – I mean, I'd understand completely if you didn't but-"

"Moony!" Cried a familiar male voice. "I see you've found Snivellius. Giving him some tips on washing his hair? Only he could do with a few."

"Nice one, Padfoot," cheered another all too familiar Marauder voice.

Remus stopped listening. He was silently fuming at his supposed friends' behaviour when he was quite clearly trying to ask out the person he really liked. Well, they didn't know that, but...

"...EXPELLIARMUS!" Cried James, as a flash of red light exploded from his wand. Just in time, Remus stepped in front of Severus and received the force of the spell. He was propelled backwards, his wand torn from his grip and landed on the concrete path with a thump. All he could remember seeing were three confused faces and one very concerned pale face whispering his name, before darkness covered his eyes.

"I said, OUT!" Exclaimed an angry female voice. Remus opened his eyes and squinted at the bright lights and pervading whiteness surrounding him; he was in the Hospital Wing.

The door was slammed shut and Remus heard a sigh.

"Oh, you're awake, Mr Lupin!" Smiled Madam Pomfrey, standing over him. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," answered Remus honestly before attempting to sit up. Without warning, a searing pain erupted in the back of his head as though his head was splitting open. He cried out in pain.

"Careful, now," Madame Pomfrey whispered, gently pushing him back down. "Here, drink this, it should ease the pain." Remus did as instructed, accepting a small goblet of a pink substance. As soon as it passed his throat, he could feel a warming sensation in the back of his head leaving a comfortable tingling sensation. "You gave us quite a scare."

"What happened?" He asked.

"You were at the receiving end of a spell, my dear. Knocked backwards, you were at least six feet in the air when you fell head first onto the ground." She shook her head. "We were so worried when you wouldn't wake up. The Headmaster was very anxious about your welfare-"

"What? How long have I been out for?"

"Four days," answered the nurse, pushing her patient back down as he tried to sit up again. "We were all set to transfer you to St Mungo's if you didn't wake by the morning. It was quite a long time to be unconscious for after a simple cracked skull. Usually I have someone up and out within an hour."

Remus squeezed his eyes shut. "So why didn't I wake up in an hour?"

"That's uncertain at this moment in time. I've run some tests on you and I should be receiving the results for them in a few days."

Remus felt lost; he'd been unconscious for four days. Four days of his life were gone. And why did he black out for so long? Surely there couldn't be anything else wrong with him? He prayed that it was just the spell's doing.

"You've been very popular, though!" Smiled Madam Pomfrey. "I had to literally throw Mr Snape out earlier, he simply wouldn't leave! Very concerned about you, he was."

Remus' heart skipped a beat. "He came to see me?"

"Oh yes, every night after curfew. When you were brought in, Misters Potter, Black and Pettigrew were also there. A nasty fight broke out between them and Mr Snape, it took the eaHHH

Headmaster himself to break them apart! Snape has been visiting you every night I think to avoid any more clashes with your friends."

Remus was momentarily lost for words. He didn't know which part of that information to focus on first. Severus was visiting him every night. James, Sirius and Peter got into a fight with him; about what? Did they know? Had they guessed? Were they in trouble for fighting?

The opening of the Hospital Wing doors roused Remus from his thoughts; it was the Headmaster.

"Ahh Remus, my dear boy! How are you?" He asked warmly, sitting down on a chair next to Remus' bed.

"Fine, thank you Professor," he croaked out unconvincingly.

"Of course, I wouldn't expect you to admit when you were in pain, you are so very modest, Remus." He nodded towards the boxes of chocolate frogs at the bottom of his bed. "Your admirers have missed you, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has informed you of what happened?" Remus nodded. "I wondered, if you were feeling up to it, you could tell me your version of events." He smiled, allowing Remus to say if he was feeling too unwell.

"Yes, Headmaster," Remus replied. "Well, me and Severus were sitting by the lake, er-talking about a project-" he muttered quickly, "when James, Sirius and Peter came over and, well I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what happened because I didn't really know what to do. Then I heard James shout 'expelliarmus' at Severus, and I think I stepped in front of him so he didn't get hit. Anyway, then I kind of blacked out."

The Headmaster nodded and then stroked his long, white beard. "Indeed that is the story I have heard from your friends. However, what I wanted to get to the bottom of was why Mr Potter felt the need to use magic upon Mr Snape. Misters Potter, Black and Pettigrew inform me that Mr Snape was unkind to them and provoked them. Mr Snape, on the other hand, naturally insists he did nothing of the sort. I was hoping to clear up the matter with your assistance."

Remus bit his lip. "I-"

Dumbledore held up his hand to stop him. "You feel trapped between the two, possibly? You wish to neither discredit your fellow Griffindors or Mr Snape. It is curious, Remus, that you have been spending a lot of time with Mr Snape recently."

Remus immediately blushed uncontrollably, which he was certain the Headmaster must have noticed. "Well, we're partnered in most of our classes-"

"My boy, I am not insinuating there is anything wrong with it whatsoever! You can never have too many friends!" Dumbledore surveyed the boy over his golden spectacles, his blues eyes twinkling and Remus had the distinct feeling that he knew everything. This made him blush even more.

Madame Pomfrey came over and began to fuss over her patient. "Ah, it seems I must leave you now so you can recover your strength." He stood up and winked. "I do hope you are feeling better soon, Mr Lupin."

After the Headmaster had left, Remus felt positively confused. The lights had dimmed now, so he assumed it was now evening. Which meant that it had to be...he strained unsuccessfully to see the window.

"Yes, Remus." Said a soft voice, "it's tomorrow night."

Remus' chest tightened and he began to breathe far too quickly. He had barely woken from a four day coma and tomorrow night was full moon, how was he supposed to cope with that? Seemingly knowing exactly what he was worried about, Pomfrey began to try and calm him down until the doors once again opened.

"Sorry, I know it's late, but I heard Remus was awa-" the voice stopped at the sight in front of him. Remus heard someone run over to him and a small, pale hand touched his cheek.

"Sev'rus?" he choked.

"Shhhh," replied Severus, nodding at the nurse to assure her he could deal with Remus. "Don't speak, just calm yourself."

Remus felt a comforting hand stroke his hair and his eyes fluttered closed. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal and his chest began to loosen. He leaned into the hand and covered it with one of his own. "Sorry, Severus I didn't know James was going to find us, let alone try to hex you, I-"

"Hush Remus, I know all of that. Believe me, I know. I don't care about any of that, okay? I just care about you, so please just get better. I was so worried when you wouldn't wake up..." his voice trailed off as Remus recognised suppressed emotion in his voice. He gripped his hand tighter. "I'll leave you to sleep now, it's late. But I'll come and see you tomorrow night."

Remus bit his lip; he wouldn't be there tomorrow night.

"No, Mr Snape!" Cried Madame Pomfrey on hearing those words. "Mr Lupin needs rest, and plenty of it! I will be preventing anyone from coming to see him for a few days so he can recover completely without disruption."

"But I want-"

"No," Pomfrey said firmly.

"S'ok Severus, I'll be fine soon. See you in a few days, yeah?" He squeezed the Slytherin's hand making him smile.

"Ok," Severus' genuine smile made Remus' heart skip a beat as he left the room.

"Thanks." Said Remus quietly to Madame Pomfrey, who nodded at him and turned the light off indicating for him to sleep.

Severus didn't know whether to cry or laugh or both. The previous few days had been some of the longest of his life. Every morning he awoke with a smile on his face before realising what had happened, making him thoroughly miserable and particularly anxious as he tried to discover news on Remus' condition. Each lesson dragged for days without the comforting presence of Remus, his mind could not concentrate on his work and his grades had begun slipping. It all came down to one reason; he missed Remus Lupin.

Every night after curfew, Severus would make the familiar trek down to the hospital wing to see how the patient was. After the trivial fight with the Griffindorks that called themselves Remus' friends, he had opted to stay out of their way which meant visiting Remus at night. He suspected that Dumbledore was happy no more conflict would take place with this arrangement as both he and Madame Pomfrey knew, yet they did not stop him.

The first time he visited Remus was a few hours after the incident and he found himself quite shocked with the image presented in front of him. Remus was so pale, so small and fragile that Severus just wanted to pick him up and hold him whilst whispering that everything was going to be okay. Something inside him stirred and he did the only thing he could; he cried for the first time since he was a small boy.

The sheer extremity of the fear Severus felt when he unwillingly contemplated the possibility losing his first and only friend succeeded in forcing him to admit to himself the truth. He finally recognised that he had real, deep feelings for the shy Griffindor that were too strong for purely friendship. Nothing and no one would stop how he felt and, for now, he would just have to hide his scars and hope with all his heart that Remus felt something for him in return.